2009 UCLA Anderson Business School Packages

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MBA Admissions: Approaching the "wild card" essay questions Every MBA candidate expects to write a goals essay. Everyone expects to tell a leadership story. These are the "flagship" pieces of any application--the essays that will help the admissions committee figure out what you've achieved and how you approach your professional life. But then, there are the "wild card" questions--these are almost always very personal, and they generally require very brief responses. "If you could be a character in a book, who would it be, and why?" "What's your most precious tangible possession? Intangible possession?" "What are you most passionate about?" "If you could spend a day anywhere... if you could invite anyone to dinner, living or dead..." and so on. Why do the admissions committees ask questions like these, and--as so many of my clients have asked me--WHAT do they want to hear in response? What are they digging for? Not all schools ask questions like these on their applications, but many do. If you look for the "question behind the question," you'll find that it invariably has something to do with their desire to understand your value system, your priorities, and your overall character. They don't just want to know what you've achieved (they can find most of that on your resume) or what you want your next job to be, though that is certainly important--they want to know who you are, what you care about, and how you respond to the world around you. Remember, they're putting together a class of actual human beings--not just a bunch of high achievers, but a group of individual, idiosyncratic people with an incredible variety of likes, dislikes, belief systems and cultural practices--and they need to know how you're going to fit into their particular academic and social environment. There is clearly no single "right" answer here, but there are plenty of wrong ones. The least effective essays I ever see on these topics generally involve inviting Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, and/or Bill Gates to dinner, or explaining why a framed undergraduate degree is one's most precious possession. And of course, far too many people write that if they could spend a day anywhere, it would of course be in the same "world-class, cosmopolitan" city where the B-school in question is located. These answers are doomed on many levels. They're predictable, they're dull, and they often make the mistake of assuming that adcom members are likely to respond positively to empty flattery and generic responses! The best essays that I've read on this topic, on the other hand, offer the reader a small--but very clear--window into the writer's character. The personal items they discuss aren't particularly grand or expensive, their dinner guests don't always have instantly-recognizable names, and the books they choose to leap into aren't always best-sellers, but their responses are clear, authentic and insightful. I think that your first and most important task here is to be as honest as possible with yourself--and in the essay you write--even if what you want to write about doesn't feel terribly impressive. I once worked with someone who wrote a terrific "important tangible possession" essay about a tiny piece of folded paper that he had carried in his wallet since middle school--a piece of paper with some meaningful words on it, written by someone he cared about. That essay worked because the writer approached it honestly, from a very "micro" level, and didn't try to hammer his reader over the head with a grandiose conclusion about life, leadership, or anything else. He simply answered the question and explained his response. That's all--but that was perfect! In those essays that ask you to imagine yourself in a fantasy context or circumstance, it's a good idea to keep things grounded by focusing on illustrating some of the specific personal qualities you want to highlight in your application. You can write a good essay about spending your "anywhere in the world" day  practically anywhere--at a monastery in Mykonos, an archaeological dig in Egypt, a homeless shelter in Chicago or a food festival in Milan--you just have to come up with some really compelling reasons WHY you would do this, and discuss not just where you would go, but how you would spend the time and with whom.  Naturally, you'll want to choose something that is a bit of a challenge--not just something you could step outside your front door and do this Thursday--but you don't have to go overboard. You can even have a little fun with these sorts of topics--don't be glib and silly just for the sake of it, but feel free to let your imagination go a little bit. Finally--and perhaps most importantly--don't spend too much time second-guessing yourself. You don't have to prove that you're incredibly cultured or brilliant... you don't have to drop important names... you don't have to "boldly go where no one has gone before"--you just have to show them who YOU really are, and in doing so, hopefully get them to care about you enough to let you in! By Sonia Michaels, who has years of experience helping successful clients write revealing, authentic essays. Posted by Sonia Michaels on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:42:45 +0000 | Permalink | Post a comment

UCLA Anderson 2009 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips UCLA Anderson 2009 MBA Deadlines Application Deadline:   Decision Released By: Round 1  Oct 9, 2008     Jan 8, 2009 Round 2  Jan 8, 2009     Mar 26, 2009 Round 3  Apr 2, 2009      Jun 4, 2009 UCLA Anderson 2009 Essay Questions My comments are in red. This year, UCLA has modified its application and added a required fourth question. However, in an original twist, it limits that question to 250 words or a one-minute audio. I believe Anderson is the first MBA program to encourage a non-visual response to an essay question.  Separately, it is giving you more opportunity to introduce the non-professional side of you in this year's application, specifically question #2. The UCLA Anderson Admissions Committee is interested in getting to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, genuine, and succinct. We are more concerned with the content of your essays than their form or style. All responses to essays must be on double-spaced pages that are uploaded in document form, except for Essay 4 for first-time applicants and Essay 3 for reapplicants, which may be submitted as an audio file instead.  (Please note the word limits in parentheses.) Four required essays: 1.  How has your family and/or community helped shape your development? Please include information about where you grew up, and perhaps a highlight or special memory of your youth. (750 words) For years similar questions have been UCLA's first and one of its longer essays. That status reveals the importance UCLA places on getting to know you as a human being.  Choose 1-3 important elements of your background and youth to discuss in this essay. You can focus on your community, family life, vacations, mealtime, seminal experiences or events that were formative. The key is to highlight particular topics and not write the sweeping (and superficial) bio.   Avoid "I was born in Timbuktu and when I was 4 we moved to Outer Mongolia and then when I was ..." or the equivalent. One of the differences between this year's #1 and last year's is the introduction of community to the question. Community is an important value at Anderson. If it has been important to you, you may want to focus on its role in your development. 2.  What experience has had the greatest impact on who you are today and why? (500 words) New question. Minimize or eliminate overlap between your responses to #1 and #2. They should complement each other. The experience is important, but more important is how you answer the second part of the question. In order to answer this question, you will need to reveal how you are different, how you behave differently as a result of this transformational experience. 3.  Discuss your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA now at UCLA Anderson? (750 words) UCLA's is a pretty straightforward goals question. What are you goals? Why now? How will UCLA Anderson help you achieve your goals. As always be specific and make sure you answer all elements of the question. 4.  Audio or text:  Select and respond to ONE of the following questions. We would like you to respond to the question by recording an audio response (up to 1 minute).  If you are unable to submit your response via audio, then please upload a written response (250 words) instead.  The supported file types for audio files are: .avi, .wav, .mp3, .wmv, .midi, .wma, .aiff, .au, .mp4 a.  What does entrepreneurial spirit mean to you? b.  What global issue matters most to you and why? c.  What is something people will find surprising about you? New question. As with all questions that give you a choice, choose the option that allows you to present a different and impressive experience -- one not discussed in a previous essay. If you ever ran your own business or worked in a start-up, "A" may be the one for you. If you have been involved in global business, have participated in community service activities addressing global issues, or want to have impact on a particular global issue, perhaps "B" is the question you should answer. And "C" could be perfect for someone from a seemingly common background with a distinctive hobby, interest, or twist to his or her experience. 5.  OPTIONAL: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words) Last year, UCLA added the following: "Please do not submit redundant information in the Optional Essay."  Good advice for all optional questions. For more suggestions, please see The Optional Question: To Be or not To Be. If you would like help with UCLA's essays, please consider Accepted.com's UCLA Anderson Comprehensive Packages or our other MBA admissions consulting and editing services. Posted by Linda Abraham on Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:49:33 +0000 | Permalink | Post a comment

Average 2007 GMAT: 704
Average 2007 Acceptance Rate: 23%
Average 2007 GPA: 3.6
Class Size: 360
2009 application deadlines: Oct 9, 2008; Jan 6, 2009; Apr 2, 2009
Anderson School of Business Admissions

UCLA Anderson MBA Application Tips

Date Rating Course 06/2008 4.00 Entrepreneurship 04/2008 4.80 Marketing 04/2008 General Management 03/2008 4.50 Marketing 02/2008 5.00 Marketing

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Date Title 3/28/2007 UCLA Waitlist Admissions Chat with Craig Hubbell 12/21/2005 UCLA Anderson MBA with Linda Baldwin 4/7/2005 MBA Late Round Applications 9/28/2004 UCLA Anderson with Linda Baldwin 1/7/2004 International MBA Admissions Chat 12/15/2003 UCLA Anderson with Linda Baldwin 11/26/2001 UCLA with Linda Baldwin